Cuban cuisine, a world treasure…

Stop saying Cuban gastronomy is all about rice&beans and shredded pork… The World Association of Chefs Societies (WorldChefs) has just declared the island''s cuisine a World Intangible Heritage. Finger licking right…

That recognize all the hard work to preserve the identity of a gastronomy with deep roots, respecting cultural diversity and human creativity. The decree was announced this weekend by chef Claudio Ferrer, Continental Director of the Americas and Caribbean Islands of WorldChef, who hosted an event at Artechef Restaurant in Havana.

Ferrer praised Cuban cuisine, world-wide appreciated by its techniques and recipes. A team from this global body just ended a visit to Cuba, aiming to interact with tourism and local trade authorities. Along came the representative of the Association of Chefs in Argentina, Ernesto Ruben Baez, and that of the culinary society of Puerto Rico, Marco Rodriguez.

The executive emphasized that Cuba has maintained its influence of different cultures, giving a unique touch of distinction in its flavor, hence its universal value, when it allowed influences from everywhere, positive and incorporated in a natural way.

Cuban cuisine is a blend of aborigen food, Spanish, African, and Caribbean cuisines. This results in a unique, interesting and flavorful blend of the several different cultural influences, with strong similarities with the cuisine of the neighboring Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. A small but noteworthy Chinese influence can also be accounted for, mainly in the Havana area.